title: Four common vascular endothelial growth factor polymorphisms (-2578C>A, -460C>T, +936C>T, and +405G>C) in susceptibility to lung cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the key initiators and regulators of angiogenesis and it plays a vital role in the onset and development of malignancy. The association between VEGF gene polymorphisms and lung cancer risk has been extensively studied in recent years, but currently available results remain controversial or ambiguous. The aim of this meta-analysis is to investigate the associations between four common VEGF polymorphisms (i.e., -2578C>A, -460C>T, +936C>T and +405C>G) and lung cancer risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all eligible studies to estimate the association between VEGF polymorphisms and lung cancer risk. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the strength of this association.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 14 published case-control studies with 4,664 cases and 4,571 control subjects were identified. Our meta-analysis provides strong evidence that VEGF -2578C>A polymorphism is capable of increasing lung cancer susceptibility, especially among smokers and lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients. Additionally, for +936C>T polymorphism, increased lung cancer susceptibility was only observed among lung adenocarcinoma patients. In contrast, VEGF -460C>T polymorphism may be a protective factor among nonsmokers and SCC patients. Nevertheless, we did not find any association between +405C>G polymorphism and lung cancer risk, even when the groups were stratified by ethnicity, smoking status or histological type.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis recommends more investigations into the relationship between -2578C>A and -460C>T lung cancer risks. More detailed and well-designed studies should be conducted to identify the causal variants and the underlying mechanisms of the possible associations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Kejian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Wenhu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xufeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A